The Accredited Vascular Laboratory at UK HealthCare performs a wide variety of vascular tests that look for diseases that affect how well blood moves through your veins and arteries. The lab examines blood vessels throughout the body that feed major organs and tissue. These tests can help diagnose and treat many vascular conditions, including peripheral arterial disease (PAD), stroke, aneurysms, venous insufficiency, and thoracic outlet syndrome.

Ankle-Brachial Index

The ankle-brachial index (ABI) is an exam that uses inflatable pressure cuffs to assess blood flow in the legs and arms. A registered vascular technologist/sonographer (RVT/RVS) will measure the blood pressure in your arm and ankles using blood pressure cuffs. The RVT will calculate a ratio using your arm and ankle pressures, which is a predictor of how the circulation in your legs is performing.

Duplex Ultrasound

Combines traditional ultrasound and doppler ultrasound to evaluate the flow in blood vessels. We perform multiple types of duplex ultrasound exams:

• Carotid duplex scan is an ultrasound test that shows how well blood is flowing through the carotid arteries. The carotid arteries are located in the neck and they supply blood directly to the brain.
• Arterial duplex ultrasound uses sound waves to create a color map of your leg arteries to identify narrowing of your vessels that may be causing leg pain when walking.
• Venous duplex is a painless exam that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to capture internal images of veins that return blood to the heart.
• Renal Artery Duplex scan is an ultrasound test that uses high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) to examine the renal arteries and measure blood flow. The renal arteries deliver blood to the kidneys.
• Mesenteric Artery Duplex scan is an ultrasound test. The superior and inferior mesenteric arteries branch out from the abdominal aorta and supply the intestine with blood. In addition to vessel blockage, the study is used to detect any enlargement which is the result of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
• Aortoiliac duplex scan is a non-invasive diagnostic test that uses ultrasound technology to look inside the aorta and iliac arteries to detect medical conditions that could be affecting blood flow to the buttocks, groin, legs or feet. This procedure examines the abdomen and pelvis and takes approximately 60 minutes.
• Hemodialysis duplex ultrasound imaging lends itself well to the evaluation of hemodialysis access as grafts and fistulas are superficial structures. This procedure allows identification and localization of abnormalities, which may potentially threaten access function and patency.

Health care providers, please visit our referral page to refer your patient to this service.